


Sentiment and Sentimentality

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Series: The New Travels of Rose and the Doctor [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: A lot of talking, F/F, Fluff, Mentions of other doctors, Pining, really dialogue heavy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 13:09:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16429997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Rose and the Doctor discuss what they’ve been doing lately.





	Sentiment and Sentimentality

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of just needed a filler story so here it is   
> Still good tho lot of fluff

“You look like such a nerd!” Rose laughed, looking at the Doctor’s eleventh regeneration. “And what the hell is going on with the mop?”

“It was necessary at the time! Don’t be mean.”

“I’m not! And really, in all honesty, you were kind of cute, in a babyish kind of way.”

“How is that a compliment?”

“I’m calling you cute, that should be enough.” She pointed at the Doctor’s next regeneration, the twelfth. “And since when did you get a guitar?”

“Oh, I was very punk rock then. You should’ve seen me, jamming away on that thing in the mid-renaissance. I was having the time of my life.”

“And who’s that standing beside you?”

The Doctor glared at the image. “Missy. A dear old Time Lord enemy of mine. Last I heard she was dead, but then again, that never seems to last very long with her.”

“Time Lord? I thought they all were dead?”

“They were, but not Missy. No, she has a long history of escaping from deadly situations and mucking things up on the way out. When I first saw that she was still alive I thought I would be glad, but then she tried to take over the planet, and that tends to not be an effective way to win friends. Tried to do that several times, actually. She was always very fond of that.”

“I thought Time Lords couldn’t die.”

“We all have a set number of regenerations, Time Lords. I was granted some more, but most only have twelve. Missy ran out. And I mean, it’s not too great of a loss. She was a terrible person.” The disappointment was still apparent in the Doctor’s voice. “But anyway, that’s how I’ve been. What about you? Anything thrilling happen in your life?”

“Positively nothing.” Rose sat against the Tardis console. This console room, though fantastic, did have a noticeable lack of chairs. “I work in a shop, I still live with my parents, and the only interesting thing to happen to me last week was finding some cash on the ground.”

“So you want to go back to travelling then.”

“If you’ll still have me.”

“Of course I will. Do you have anyone here you’ll want to say goodbye to?”

“Are you asking if I have a boyfriend?”

“Yes, vaguely.”

Rose smiled sadly. “I do not. Nothing ever seems to last nowadays.”

“I know the feeling. I got married at one point.” The Doctor took a deep breath. “A different marriage from my one to Queen Elizabeth.”

That wave of jealousy washed over Rose again. Why should she care so much? The two of them had never… become anything, and the Doctor had every right to go off and get married to whoever she liked. “Oh?”

“A woman by the name of River Song. Lovely woman. A Time Lord too, but only technically. Both her parents were human, but since she was conceived on the Tardis, something wiggly went on with her genetics and she ended up becoming a sort-of Time Lord. Used up most of her regenerations to save my life.”

“Where is she now?”

“I don’t know. She travelled through time too, and the first time I ever met her was also the day she died. Though I’m pretty sure I met her beforehand, and she just erased my memory of it. She was big on the memory erasing, River was.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Oh, I miss everybody I have to leave behind. Leave it to me, to be the sentimental time traveller.”

Rose took the Doctor’s hand. “There’s nothing wrong with being sentimental.”

The Doctor looked at their locked hands, then back up to Rose’s face. “I had nearly forgotten how nice it is to talk to you.”

“I know. It’s been too long, Doctor. Far too long.”

“And that’s entirely my fault. But Rose,” She took Rose’s other hand and looked her hard in the eyes. “If I had taken you with me, who knows what would have happened. Chances are, you would’ve been dead by now.”

“That’s something I’m willing to risk. My life doesn’t matter if it means saving the universe.”

The Doctor’s voice cracked. “It matters to me.”

Rose’s breath quickened. She noticed just how quickly the distance between her and the Doctor had closed. She desperately wanted to close the gap, to release the feelings that had gone unresolved for a decade. But she knew there would be no going back from there. 

Just when it seemed like something was about to happen, the Doctor released Rose’s hands and walked to the other side of the console, leaning her elbows on it. “I’ve already caused you so much pain and regret. I don’t want to hurt you any more.”

“Well, too bad. I’m coming with you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Rose planted her feet and crossed her arms. “And if you think for one second that you’re going to try to leave without me, I’m going to hunt you down and… I don’t know what I’ll do, but it’ll be bad.”

A moment passed, before a slight smile crossed the Doctor’s face. “I’m not going to stop you.”

“Good.” Rose glanced around the console room. “And why aren’t there any chairs in here?”

“That I’m not sure about. I guess the Tardis just doesn’t want us to sit.” 

“Give me one minute.” Rose proceeded down the hall. She didn’t know where she was going, but she knew what she was looking for. And after a few minutes of searching, she found what she was looking for in a dusty supply closet. Dragging it back to the console room, she opened it up and sat down. “I knew there must’ve been a lawn chair somewhere.”

“You know when the Tardis starts to move, that thing’s going to shift around, right?”

“I can tape it down or something.”

“Uh-uh. No tape on my Tardis. Do you know how long it would take to get the adhesive off the floor?”

“Staples, then.”

“No!”

“Zip ties.”

The Doctor sighed. “Fine. Zip tie it down if you really want. If you want a chair up in the console room that desperately, instead of walking fifteen feet down the hall to the living room area.”

“I do.” Rose nodded, mock-defiantly. It was such a thrill to be messing with the Doctor again. “And no one else is allowed to sit in this chair.”

The Doctor frowned. “Did you miss the part where I said that this is my Tardis?”

“No, I heard you. I just chose to disregard it.”

The Doctor’s frown was broken when she laughed. “Alright, you’ve won, if only because of the complete absurdity of your argument.”

Rose beamed. “Of course.” She tried to throw her feet up on the console, but the chair slid backwards, just out of reach. “So, are we going to wait until morning to fly off into space, or should we just go now?”

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to your parents?”

“I can give them a call in the morning. Besides, I left without telling my mum the first time we started travelling together.”

“Right, and she slapped me because of it. I don’t want her slapping me again.”

“I guess I can just leave a note or something.” Rose stood. “Promise you won’t fly off without me?”

The Doctor crossed her hand over her chest. “Cross my hearts.”

“Good.” 

Rose quickly ran back inside, jotted down a note, grabbed her duffel bag, and dashed back out. The Tardis was, thankfully, still there. And in the Tardis, the Doctor was now sitting in her chair.

“Oi, I thought I told you that that was my chair.” Rose said, dropping her duffel bag atop the console. 

“My Tardis, my chair. Literally my chair. You pulled it out of my closet.”

“I think you’re just disappointed because you didn’t think to get a chair from the closet, so you decided to take mine.”

“I would have thought of it eventually. And besides, I have more important things on my mind.”

Rose leaned against the lawn chair, forcing the Doctor to look up at her. Once again, it took everything in Rose’s power not to lean down and kiss her. “Really? What kind of things.”

“Fate of the universe, things I’ve mucked up in the past, what I’m going to eat for breakfast, that kind of thing. Important stuff.”

“How is breakfast more important than chairs?”

“It’s the most important meal of the day. Did Sesame Street teach you nothing?”

“Half the time I don’t even eat breakfast. Though, does coffee count?”

“No, it does not.” The Doctor sighed. “You millenials are always skipping breakfast. It’s not healthy!”

“Hey, don’t generalize. Not all millennials skip breakfast. I mean, most do, because we’re stuck working retail jobs and living with our parents because no one can afford a house, but some are living very comfortable lives.”

The Doctor shook her head. “Now I see why you’re so set on coming with me. The planet is falling to pieces.”

“I mean, most of it is alright. At least we’ve got Netflix, and those videos Buzzfeed Tasty makes of people cooking.”

“The world is saved by Buzzfeed Tasty.”

“Hey, their videos are good. And their recipes are good too, I’ve made quite a few of them.” Rose smirked. “So are we going to go, or what?”

“You were the one keeping me talking.” The Doctor stood, walking over to the console. The flowing of the coat distinctly reminded Rose of the coat the Doctor’s tenth regeneration wore. It tore at her heart just a little. This was still the Doctor after all. Nothing to worry about. 

The Doctor pressed a few buttons and pulled a few levers, and then they were off. A peculiar little model of the Tardis on the console began to spin, and Rose felt that familiar jolt that had her gripping the console for support. The Doctor had been right, in that the lawn chair slid harshly to the right, hitting into a column. Rose couldn’t help but smile. This was where she belonged. Back on the Tardis. Back home.

The Tardis came to a stop, and the Doctor held out a hand to the door. 

Rose raised an eyebrow. “Care to tell me where we’re going?”

“It’s a surprise. To both you and me. I still don’t quite know how this Tardis tells you where you’re going. I just hit a few buttons and hope for the best.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I promise you I am not. I genuinely have no idea where we are.”

Rose took a deep breath. “Let’s just hope it’s not some planet with an atmosphere made out of toxic levels of sulfur or something.”

“It shouldn’t be. I don’t think the Tardis would bring us somewhere like that.” She paused. “I don’t think.”

“Well, only one way to find out.”

**Author's Note:**

> *loudly strumming an electric guitar* I LOVE THE DOCTOR


End file.
